The Wars of the Roses

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The Wars of the Roses
The White Rose of York
The Red Rose of Lancaster
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When Edward III died in 1377, his heir was his 10
year-old grandson, Richard (son of Edward the
Black Prince who had died a year earlier).
Richard II
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Decline of Monarchy

• Expenses of the Hundred Years War
• Increasing power of House of Commons
• Powerful nobles, including too many kings uncles!

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Edward III
Edward, the Black Prince
Lionel, Duke of Clarence
John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster
Edmund, Duke of York
Thomas, Duke of Gloucester
Richard II
Richard had too many uncles!
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Between 1382 and 1386 Richard began to give
power, titles, and estates to his personal
friendsto the dismay of his council of
barons. Richard was handsome, cultured, and
sensitivebut totally lacking in political sense!
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During the first five years of his reign, from
1377 to 1382, a baronial council ruled England
under the leadership of Richards uncle, John of
Gaunt.
John of Gaunt
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Parliament demanded that Richard dismiss his
royal favorites and rule only with the consent of
Lords and Commons in Parliament. The real leader
of the opposition party was another of the kings
uncles, Thomas, Duke of Gloucester.
Arms of John of Gaunt
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Richard believed that only the absolute rule of a
king could bring peace to England. He was
determined to rule through use of the royal
prerogative, without requiring the consent of
Parliament.
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The Merciless Parliament of 1388

• Dominated by the Lords Appellant
• Appointed a council to rule with the King
• Marks the high point of parliamentary power and
  the low point of royal power in medieval England.

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In 1397, he ordered the arrest of the Lords
Appellant, leaders of the opposition party.
The murder of Thomas, Duke of Gloucester (Richard
IIs uncle) at Calais.
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For two years, Richard ruled without Parliament,
angering the politically powerful barons and
merchants.
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• But when John of Gaunt died in 1399, Richard
  confiscated the lands of Gaunts heir, Henry,
  Lord Bolingbroke, and exiled him.
• Most of the barons felt this was too much.
• John of Gaunt had remained faithful, and if his
  lands were not safe, no ones lands were.

Henry, Lord Bolingbroke (son of John of Gaunt)
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Henry Bolingbroke returned from exile at the head
of an army. He captured Richard, summoned a
Parliament, and forced Richards abdication.
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Henry Bolingbroke claimed the throne through
right of descent, conquest, and Richards faulty
government. He prevailed because Richard had made
himself universally hated. By choosing to remove
Richard through act of Parliament, Henry set an
important precedent.
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Uneasy lies the head that bears the
crown. William Shakespeare, Henry IV
Henry IV was a capable king and good military
leader. But his uncertain title to the crown
meant many plots, and lack of money meant
dependence on Parliament. The barons who had
helped to put him on the throne expected that
their wishes would be heard.
Henry IV
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Henry IVs weakness was an opportunity for
Parliament, especially the House of
Commons. Commons refused taxes unless Henry
agreed to select his councilors from Parliament,
to govern with their advice, and to allow Commons
to appoint auditors to oversea the crowns
expenditures.
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Henry IV also had trouble with his son,
Shakespeares Prince Hal, who wished to resume
the war with Francea war his father could not
afford.
Henry V
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Henry V came to the throne in 1413, at the age of
25young, energetic, and courageous. He was,
Shakespeare wrote, the mirror of all Christian
Kings. He personally ruled with firmness and
justice and with the advice and consent of
Parliament. Modern historians, however, consider
him cruel, domineering, selfishly ambitious, and
overly pious.
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In 1415, Henry V invaded France to regain all the
territory his ancestors had lost.
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At the Battle of Agincourt on Oct. 25, 1415, an
outnumbered English army defeated a French force
five times larger. 5000 Frenchmen died, including
3 dukes, 5 counts, and 90 barons. The English
lost 300 men.
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By the Treaty of Troyes, 1420, Henry V married
the sister of Charles VI of France, Catherine of
Valois. Henry was also acknowledged as the heir
to the French king.
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But Henry died only two years later, in 1422,
leaving a 9-month-old son as his heir.
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Joan of Arc (the Maid of Orleans) inspired the
French to withstand the English armies. Although
she was ultimately captured, sold to the English,
and burned as a witch, Joan turned the tide of
war in favor of the French.
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During the reign of Henry VI, the power of the
English monarchy reached its lowest point. Henry
VI grew up as a pious, sensitive recluse, with
little capacity for politics or governing.
Henry VI
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The marriage of Margaret of Anjou and Henry VI
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The York faction was led by Richard, Duke of
York, and his son Edward. When Richard died at
the Battle of Wakefield in 1460, his son Edward
became the leader of the York forces.
Edward IV at 19
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Edward III
Edmund, 1st Duke of York Richard, 2nd Duke of
York Edward Edmund Richard
John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster
Henry IV
Beaufort line, legitimated by Henry IV
Henry V
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The Lancaster faction was led by Queen Margaret
of Anjou and Edmund Beaufort, Duke of Somerset (a
descendent of John of Gaunt through his third
marriage).
Henry VI
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Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick (the Kingmaker)
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Edward was proclaimed king in 1461. He was tall,
handsome, and a lover of wine, women, and
pleasure. He was descended from two of Edward
IIIs sonsfrom Lionel through his mother and
from Edmund through his father.
Edward IV
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Edward III
Edward, the Black Prince
Lionel, Duke of Clarence
John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster
Edmund, Duke of York
Thomas, Duke of Gloucester
Richard II
Anne married Richard (d. 1460)
Edward IV Edmund Richard (III)
d. 1460
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In 1464 Edward married Elizabeth Woodville, a
widow with two sons. The marriage so infuriated
Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick, that he turned
against Edward. In alliance with Margaret of
Anjou, he forced Edward to flee England and put
Henry VI back on the throne!
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Henry VIs re-adoption as King did not last
long. Edward quickly raised a large army in the
Netherlands and defeated and killed the Earl of
Warwick. From 1471 to his death in 1483, Edward
ruled England without challenge.
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Edwards brother Richard is Shakespeares
Crookback, although no contemporary evidence of
disability exists. Most of the evidence for
Richards villainy comes from later Tudor
historians.
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Evidence was presented to Parliament that Edward
V had married another woman, Lady Eleanor Butler,
prior to his marriage to Elizabeth
Woodville. Such a marriage, if true, would make
his marriage to Elizabeth bigamous and his
children bastards. Parliament accepted the claim
of bastardy and proclaimed Richard King.
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In 1674, the bones of two children were found at
the foot of a staircase in the Tower of
London. Tradition has held that the bones of
those of the two princes.
Memorial urn in Westminster Abbey
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The new leader of the Lancastrian forces was
Henry Tudor, a young man with a very remote claim
to the throne.
Young Henry Tudor
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Edward III
Edmund, 1st Duke of York Richard, 2nd Duke of
York Edward Edmund Richard
John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster
Henry IV
Beaufort line, legitimated by Henry IV
Henry V
Margaret Beaufort m. Edmund Tudor
Henry VII
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On Aug. 22, 1485, Richard III was slain by
treacherous allies at the Battle of Bosworth
Field.
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Henry Tudor claimed the throne through right of
conquest, descent, and his marriage to Elizabeth
of York, daughter of Edward IV.
Henry Tudor
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The Tudor Rose combined the Red Rose of Lancaster
and the White Rose of York.
Bronze effigies of Henry VII and Elizabeth of York